Improvement in tube-packing



nire rrares Prien.

Panni* EMPROVEM ENT IN TUBE'l PACKING.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 4 5,@22, dated Januaryl0, 1865.

To all whom, it may concern.'

Be it known that I, SAMUEL L. Fox, of Philadelphia, in the county ofPhiladelphia and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and usefulImprovement in Apparatus for Packing Tubes and Joints; and I do herebydeclare that the following is a full, clear, and exact descriptionthereof, which will enable those skilled in the art to makev and use thesame, reference being had to the accompanyin g drawings, forming part ofthis speciiication, in which- Figure l is an elevation of my improvedapparatus. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section taken on the line to of Fig.3, showing the apparatus as it appears when applied about a tube. Fig. 3is a top view.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts.

'lhis invention consists, in general terms, in a novel method of packingthe tubes of oil and other wells, or any other surfaces, fixed ormovable, by the use of a packing-box whose body is` made of iiexible orelastic material, and is made to act as a packing by means oi'I theexpansion of its walls.

The example of my invention here shown consists of an apparatus in whichit is applied to pack the tubes of oil or other deep or Artesian wellsin which pump-tubes of great length are used. In operating such wells itis usu-v ally necessary or desirable to cut oft' the iiow of surface andspring water from the oil or other matters to be raised from the bottomof the well. The common mode of doing this is to tie a seed-bag aroundthe pump-tube on a line below the lowest source or vein of fresh wateror other matter to be excluded, and which will gradually swell under theaction of the water so as to till the annular space between the pumptubeand the sides of the well, and thereby pack the tube and cut oifcommunication through said space between the part of the well below theseed-bag and the part above it. This method is very imperfect, and isattended with several disadvantages. For instance, when it becomesnecessary to take up the pump-tube to repair it, or for any otherpurpose, since it is impossible to remove the packing rst before raisingthe tube, it follows that the seed-bag must be torn away in theoperation of lifting the tube out of the well. Besides the additionalduty thus put upon the lifting apparatus, this apparatus must also liftthe water and other refuse matter held between the seed-bag and the topof the well. The force required to do this work is enormous, and thepump-tube is sometimes broken apart in the operation. When this takesplace, the well is abandoned, since it has not been found practicable toremove the fragments of the tube from the well.

My invention prevents the loss of wells from such a cause, and enablesone to pack and unpack a pump-tube at any depth with facility, ashereinafter explained.

ln the accompanying drawings, J J represent the sides of an oil orArtesian well, and A a pump-tube supposed to have been sunk therein.

Q is a hollow air-tight case, made partly of metal or its equivalent,and partly of elastic or flexible material. In the example here shown,the ends of the case are metallic rings or sec tions of hollow cylindersA A2, of an interior diameter a little greater than the exteriordiameter of the pump-tube connected to each other by elastic or dexiblecylinders C C', whose opposite ends are joined to the said rings, asseen inthe drawings. The said rings A A2 are made substantially alike,each being turned down upon the ends which face each other to form acollar or flange, c, about which the inner cylinder, C', is iitted, andto which it is secured by copper wire or other suitable means. Bothrings are also turned down near their ends, as at b, to receive theouter cylinder, G, which is secured in like manner, being so titted asthat the binding-wire, as well as the cylinder, shall be protected fromabrasion by the greater diameter ofthe ends of the rings. cylinders C Care in place, they inclose an annular space, bounded at top by the ringAf, at bottom by the ring A2, and at its sides by the said cylinders.

D is an air or gas pipe passing through both rings and through the saidannular space, and clamped to the rings by means of nuts D D, or by anyother convenient device. 'This pipe is open at both ends, its lower endterminating with the nut which secures it to the ring A2; but its upperend has a screw-thread cut around it to receive a connecting-pipe, whichis continued by successive additions until it reaches above the surfaceof the ground, so that the pipe serves not only the purpose of an Whentheair and gas vent, but also of a rod by which the packing-case Q israised and lowered in the well.

The upper ring, A', is perforated, as at c, in or near the diametricline which passes through the place of the pipe D, to receive a pipe, E,which is screwed into the hole c and clamped to the ring A by means of anut, a. 'lhe pipe E may be screwed into the ring the whole length of thehole e, or for only so much of its length as will give sufficientstrength to The ljoint. rIhis pipe communicates with the annular spacebetween thecylinders C C', and

is continued up to the top of the well by successive additions, the sameas the pipe D. It will be seen that the gaspipe D performs the oiiice ofa stay-bolt to the rings A/ A2 on one side ofthe case Q. The pipe E maybe made to serve the same office on the opposite side of the case byextending it through the annular space and letting it terminate in thering A2, in which case its sides within the annular space must beperforated to establish free communication therewith; but in this eX-ample of my invention l have chosen to terminate the pipe Ein the upperring, and have connected the rings on that side of the Vease by means ofa stay-bolt, G, which passes down through the annular space and throughthe rings and is clamped by nuts G.

J is a perforation made through the upper ring and opening into thespace between the cylinders C C for the purpose of a vent to said space,if found necessary. This hole is closed by a screw-plug, I, or by anyother suitable device.

The mode of opera-tin g and using hte packing-case Q, is as follows: Theplace in the well, or, in other words, the depth at which the pump-tubevis to be packed, being known or ascertained by the usual means, the caseis placed around the pump-tube and lowered by means of the pipes E andD, which are t0 be lengthened by successive additions until the casereaches the required depth. It is then iilled with water or otherliquid, if not filled before it is lowered, through the pipe E, by meansof a suitable pump or other device, so as to produce a pressuresufficient to expand the sides of the cylinder, as shown in red outlinein Fig. 2, the outer cylinder, (l, being forced and held snugly againstthe sides of the well, and the inner cylinder, C', being held in likemanner against the exterior of the pump-tube. Air or any other suitablefluid may be employed for this purpose instead of a liquid. Apressure-gage may be connected to the pipe E at the top of the well toindicate the pressure which is being applied to the expansible sides ofthe case.

When the pump-tube is to be removed from the well for repair or Ianyother purpose, the packing-case is to be emptied of its contentssufficiently to permit its eXpansible sides to collapse, when it can beraised from the well by means of the pipes E D, the superincumbentwater, previously held up by the packing, escaping past its sides intothe well. When the packing-case has been removed, there is no hinderanceremaining to prevent the lifting of the pump-tube.

As it is important that the surface and other water and foreignsubstances be not allowed to fall into the well during the time thepump-tube is withdrawn, I exclude them by sinking a section of a tube ofabout the same diameter as the pump-tube a sufficient distance down thewell and packing its sides;

with the movable case Q in the same manner as I pack the pumptube,thereby effectually preserving the well and preventing it 'rom beingobstructed orovertlown while the pump is out of it, and also preventingneighboring wells from being over-flown by such surface or other water.

This mode of packing' may be used with good results in the case ot' anysurface or joint which needs to be packed and which is inaccessible toordinary manipulation. The case may be adapted to different situationsby changing its form, and one or both of its sides may be madeexpansible, as occasion may require. When used for packing pumptubes,the hydrostatic pressure ot' a column of liquid, when liquid is used inthe case Q, may give pressure enough to expand its sides to the required degree without the use of a force-pump.

I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent- 1. Packingpump-tubes of oil and other wells or other tubes or pipes by means of amovable packing-case with eXpansible sides, substantially as abovedescribed.

2. The packing-case Q, constructed and operated substantially as abovedescribed.

SAMUEL L. FOX.

Witnesses J oHN Plisrnn, SAMUEL A. MURRAY, Jr.

